Zach Johnson is a successful veteran player on the PGA Tour with seven starts in the CareerBuilder Challenge behind him. So the idea of running around trying to get some practice on each of the three courses in the tournament this week wasn’t something Johnson was all that interested in.

“The yardage books are great, my caddie is great. Let’s simplify it and just go play,” Johnson said Friday after a stellar 64 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West, a round that briefly put him into a share of the lead.

Johnson’s round of nine birdies and one bogey pushed him to 13-under 131 after 36 holes, three shots behind leader Andrew Landry. Johnson’s round also came on a course he barely looked at in preparing for the event this week.

It was all part of a slimmed-down approach to the CareerBuilder week for Johnson, who played in the Sony Open in Hawaii last week. Many young players try to see all three courses in a tournament, and Johnson, a two-time major championship winner, admits he fell into the trap two years ago.

“Part of it was two years ago we switched venues here. And I had played here, but it was Q-school. I don’t know how long ago that was, 15, 16, 17 years,” Johnson said. “So I hadn’t played here in a while, so I wanted to get used to the courses. My nature is I have always been one where I can make mistakes hitting good shots if I am not prepared properly. So I’m thinking I have to see the golf course and eliminate those mistakes.”

This year, chasing all 54 holes of the tournament made no sense. Instead, Johnson, who finished third in the tournament in 2014, decided just to work on his game.

“I did a lot of short-game practice. I mean I went to La Quinta on Wednesday and chipped and putted for an hour and a half. I didn’t look at the golf course,” Johnson said.

Johnson did allow himself a little preparation on one course.

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Zach Johnson reacts to a missed birdie putt on the 9th hole of the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West during the CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, January 19, 2018(Photo: Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)

“I played both nines (at the Stadium Course), nine on Tuesday and nine on Wednesday so I wouldn’t get worn out,” he said.

Johnson said the changes in preparation for the tournament this year aren’t really part of an overall approach he is taking for the 2018 season. That approach is about the entire season, not just one week. The approach came out of a meeting he had with the team he has built around him.

“One of the most efficient and candid meetings we have had,” said Johnson, who holds 12 career tour wins. “The individuals I’m associated with have never really been afraid to say anything, but we were really frank. Truth be told, I probably had to look myself in the mirror a lot and ask for forgiveness for my stubbornness, because that can kind of get in the way.”

The meetings were also about how Johnson has played in recent years. While he finished in the top 45 of the FedEx Cup points the last two years, Johnson has considered those years to be below average years for him.

“I was probably trying to do too much of some things and too little of some others,” the 41-year-old Johnson said. “So my practice has changed a little bit and my priorities have changed a little bit of what I’m going to practice, how I am going to practice.”

In other words, hitting balls for three hours at a time isn’t going to do Johnson any good, he said.

“Really it comes down to strategic practice and trusting everything I have to do,” he said.

Andrew Landry relexes for a moment after teeing off on the 17th hole of the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West during the CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, January 19, 2018
Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun

Spectators watch a high-flying approach shot by one of the pros on the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West during the CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, January 19, 2018
Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun

Charlie Reiter talks playing partner Maverick McNealy on the 18th hole of the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West during the CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, January 19, 2018
Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun